What an Executive Transitions Firm Can Do
Leading Transitions can provide a variety of unique and tailored services in the executive transitions arena:- Help you articulate clearly what you need and assess if what you are looking for is realistic
- Create a position profile and related outreach strategy that is a good fit for where the organization is in its "life cycle" that is consistent with your organization's mission
- Advertise with our candidate list for potential candidates that fit your criteria
- Acknowledge all applicants in a professional and politically-wise manner
- Assess the quality and relevance of each candidate's previous employment and experience
- Filter the applicants and present the top possibilities to the transition team for review
- Conduct preliminary in-depth interviews with most promising candidates
- Select top tier finalists for search committee interview
- Facilitate in-depth interview process
- Assess strengths and weaknesses of candidates who are being seriously considered
- Notify other finalists when the position has been filled
- Offer recommendations for a smooth and successful "ease into the position" process for the incoming executive
- Make recommendations on an interim executive director
Succession Planning
Nonprofit organizational succession planning consultation facilitated by Leading Transitions will usually include one or more of the following three primary phases:
Phase I – Assessment and Culture Creation, Phase II – Executive Level Emergency Succession Planning and Phase III – Ongoing Succession Planning / Leadership Development. In order for to make some concrete and sustainable recommendations, we offer the following steps within each of the three phases:
Phase I – Assessment and Culture Creation
In this first phase of our consultation we will establish a baseline for succession planning practices that are already in place at your organization. From there, we will work with you and your staff on the importance of everyone in the organization talking about changes in leadership, even when these changes are not imminent. We will be working with you to determine what practices are already in place that fall under the succession planning umbrella.
Oftentimes, we conduct structured interviews with various key constituents. We will work with you on how you may bring succession planning issues into the conversations with your Board of Directors.
If you wish, we enjoy talking with your Board President and / or members of your governance committee of the Board of Directors about their own (volunteer) succession planning responsibilities and opportunities. The intention is for volunteers and paid staff to see how this work is securing your organization's mission into the future.
Phase II – Executive Level Emergency Succession Planning
Emergency succession planning is a best practice for every organization, since it strives to ensure ongoing programming and operations in the event of an unplanned and extended executive absence. When emergency circumstances occur, there is an enormous level of stress experienced by an organization's staff, board, funders, volunteers and, ultimately, by service recipients.
Our preference is to work with a team of staff that you select to identify key leadership functions carried out by the executive director, identify senior organizational leaders best qualified to assume the role of executive director in an emergency situation, and recommend the cross-training necessary so the team can fulfill the leadership functions until an (interim) executive director is appointed.
In addition to being better prepared, a major and immediate benefit of this work is staff can enhance leadership skills and perhaps improve their knowledge of each other's roles and responsibilities. They will also gain confidence in their own ability to assume executive functions once cross-training begins.
We will outline policies and procedures for the temporary appointment of an acting executive director.
Phase III – Ongoing Succession Planning / Leadership Development
We will work with your organizational leaders to create succession planning practices that can be sustainable into the future.
Together, we will look at the up-and-coming pipeline of leadership within your organization to determine if these young and/or newer professionals are receiving what they need to be successful in their work.
When applicable, we can work with your fund development staff on the essential task of including all of your past, current and future succession planning efforts into proposal procurement and composition.
This phase is the time to address what needs to be done to implement new ideas and ensure that there are mechanisms in place to facilitate these ideas being maintained on into the future.
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